Science and Shenanigans
by Elerrina Star
Summary: "Are you sure this is safe?" - They say yes, but of course nothing is safe when our favorite science bros get together. Bruce and Tony centric, science-buddy-friendship-love but no slash. Ch. 2 up!
1. Science and Shenanigans

A/N: Looks like I've officially been suckered into a new fandom (at least as far as writing goes). Thanks a million to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited my first story for this movie, _Checking In. _The readers for this fandom are AMAZING.

This fic was inspired by the artwork of **ranixin** over in Tumblr. You can find the artwork here: www. ranixin. tumblr. com/post /22540 035440/ science-bros- shenanigans (If the link doesn't work, message me and I'll see if I can fix it)!

May or may not add more chapters with these two and their science-buddy-BFFishness later so I'll leave this as a in-progress for now. Either way, hope you guys enjoy!

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"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Not really."

Bruce Banner looked up from the machine and gave Pepper a small, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it should be fine. All the numbers add up and everything is- wait, hey! Tony, what are you-?"

Tony didn't look up as he fidgeted with the machine, his words coming in broken fragments as he struggled with some internal part that Bruce couldn't see. "I'm rerouting - the - secondary circuit so that - the power will - ah! There we go."

Bruce frowned. "Tony, I don't think that's a good idea. We didn't do any checks or run any scenarios for an increase in the power."

"Ah, don't worry about it. It'll be fine," Tony said confidently. "Here, hold it steady for me so I can connect the core."

Bruce sighed but did as he was asked. Pepper shook her head and slowly backed away. "I'm getting out of here before you two cause some sort of disaster. Make sure you clean up after playtime, Tony," she called sternly as she stepped into the elevator.

"Yes, mom," Tony called back distractedly, his attention focused on the mid-sized technological box of wonders before him.

"I'll make sure he cleans up, Pepper," Bruce said.

"Thank you, Bruce," Pepper replied, smiling with fond exasperation at the both of them as the elevator doors slid closed.

"Yes, thank you, Bruce," Tony grunted with playful sarcasm, elbow deep in the machine as he fished around for what he needed.

"Shut up," the other man replied. He watched Tony root around inside the machine and frowned.

"Tony, are you sure this will work?" Bruce asked, obviously skeptical as he watched Tony work.

"Positive," the playboy replied. "Just keep it steady. Almost - got it - there!"

As Tony finished a light whirring sound started up, high pitched almost to the point of being painful. "There we go," he said, stepping back and rubbing his hands together in childish anticipation.

The high pitched sound continued and slowly the mid-sized technological box of wonders began to light up. Tony whooped like a teenage boy and Bruce grinned in satisfaction.

"See?" Tony said, winking at Bruce with a smug smile. "I told you it would-"

An unexpected flash and bang cut him off mid-sentence and sent both men flying as the box of wonders proceeding to explode in a shower of multicolored sparks and debris.

A moment later the elevator dinged and Pepper rushed out, squeaking in horror at the blackened mess that was a majority of the floor before her. "Oh my God. Tony! Bruce? Are you two alright?"

From opposite ends of the floor both men sat up, each as covered in grime and black dust from the explosion as the rest of the suite was.

"I'm fine," Tony gasped, standing up shaking and dusting himself off. "Bruce?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Banner answered as he too rose and wiped away some of the sooty black dust from his clothing and face.

Both men walked to the center of the floor and looked around at the mess, coughing and waving away the still-rising smoke that curled upwards from the shattered remains of their failed gadget.

"Well, that went well," Tony commented airily. Bruce hummed in reply and looked around thoughtfully.

"Wanna try again?"

The doctor looked up and Tony grinned at him. After a moment of silence Bruce smiled and shrugged in return. "Sure, why not?"

"Great. Only this time let's _not_ amp up the power core."

"I told you it was a bad idea," Bruce reminded as Tony ordered his bots to start the clean up. Once that was done the two headed down to the secondary lab to start over.

Pepper could only watch them go and pray that they would somehow make it through the day without blowing up the tower.

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_Thanks for reading! Reviews are love!_


	2. After the Battle is Won

A/N: First I just want to say thank you to all of the AMAZING people who have read/reviewed/favorited this fic so far. Thanks to you guys it is my 3rd most favorited EVER, and _Checking In _is my top most favorited ever. You're all so amazing. I did my best to reply to the reviews but if I missed you I'm so sorry and THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU from the bottom of my heart. I hope you all continue to enjoy my fics.

More conversation than actually S&S this time, but there are some hints of Tony and his shenanigans at the end! Enjoy!

Takes place post-Shawarma but pre Thor and Loki returning to Asgard. General spoilers.

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"So I guess this means it's over."

Dragging his gaze away from the cell where Loki stood pacing, Tony turned to glance at his companion. "For now."

Crossing his arms, Bruce turned away from the scene behind the viewing window and leaned against the glass. "So what happens now? Everyone just goes home and gets on with life?"

"Pretty much," Tony nodded. "You really are new to this whole 'hero' thing, huh?"

Bruce smirked and nodded. "You could say that. Usually when the other guy comes out I spend the next six months country hopping. It weird not being thought of as the bad guy for once."

"Well at least you don't have to worry about that anymore," Tony pointed out.

With a laugh the other man nodded. "Not right away, at least. I'm sure I'll end up running from someone eventually."

"What are you going to do now, anyway?" Tony asked.

With a shrug Bruce turned back to the window again, hands in his pockets. "I don't know. I guess I'll go back to Bangladesh. Or maybe Argentina. Somewhere closer, you know, just in case you guys need me."

"Or you could stick around here," Tony suggested casually.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"So, what, you're just going to run off into the jungle again and hide?" Returning to the window, Tony stood with his back to it and stared at the other man.

"I'm not hiding."

"Aren't you?"

"No! I'm just - I'm just trying to make sure no one gets hurt."

"Banner, you've been here for three days. It took an explosion and an alien invasion for him to find the chance to get out."

When Bruce gave no answer Tony frowned. "Look," he said slowly, "I get it - it's hard never knowing when the monster is going to explode out of you and destroy everything you care about. But are you really going to spend the rest of your life hiding in third-world shacks because you're afraid of what _might_ happen? Give yourself some credit, Banner. You've got this under control."

"For now, maybe, but what about later?" Bruce asked.

"Then we'll deal with it later. I mean, I know I may be new to this whole team thing, but I'm pretty sure that's part of the job description. _We _deal with it."

"Wow, Tony," Bruce replied after a moment. "That's actually kind of deep."

"Didn't think I had it in me, did you?" the playboy asked with a smirk.

"To be honest I figured pep-talks were more Steve's department."

"Well, to be fair I really read all that on the back of a cereal box," Tony admitted, looking away to examine the air. "Sounded pretty good though, huh?"

"It was pretty impressive. And you eat cereal? I thought rich guys ate fancy breakfast soufflés and crepes or something."

"Normally, yes, but believe it or not sometimes I actually enjoy a box of Froot Loops."

"Ughh. I hate those things. They don't even taste like fruit."

"Uh, excuse me, but there will be no Froot Loop bashing in my presence." To emphasize his point Tony reached out and jabbed the other man with a sharp object he'd acquired from... somewhere, before waving it menacingly in his face.

With a laugh Bruce threw up in his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry. They're great. It's a great cereal."

"Damn right it is," Tony replied. Both men grinned and the playboy leaned against the glass again. "Seriously, though, you should stick around, at least for a while. You can stay in what's left of the tower and we can eat Shawarma and devastate R&D every day with our combined brilliance. It'll be fun."

"I don't know, Tony..."

"Just think about it, okay?"

Bruce hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Good," Tony said, shoving off the glass and clapping Bruce on the shoulder as he walked past. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think I'll go see how many more of Fury's secret's secrets I can download before he kicks us out. You with?"

"You're going to get us in trouble, you know," Bruce commented as he followed Tony away from the viewing area and into the corridors that would lead them to the lab.

"I'm sorry, your point was?"

"All I'm saying is right now they're not trying to lock me in a cage and I'd kind of like to keep it that way."

"Don't worry," Tony said, tossing an arm over Bruce's shoulder and winking. "If they try to lock you up I'll just bust you out. Okay?"

"_Or_ I could justtell them it was all _your _idea and that I was just trying to stop you."

"My idea? Please," Tony scoffed as they entered the lab. With a mischievous grin he turned and winked again. "Who in their right mind would ever believe that this was my idea?"

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_Reviews are love!_


	3. Late Night Projects

A/N: I am soooo sorry for the gap between posts. I've had horrible writer's block for about a week now and I'm just starting to get over it - maybe. Of a dozen different one-shots I've started in that time this is the only one I've managed to complete (and haven't completely hated as well).

Thank you all so much for the contiued support/favorites/reviews! I hope I can manage to continue to earn them somehow.

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"_Preliminary scans have been completed, Doctor. All data seems to be correct. Shall I run a few tests?"_

With a quiet hum Bruce looked away from the screen, pulling his glasses away from his face to slowly rub at his aching eyes. He had been in here for the better part of the night and the screens were starting to give him a headache. He was almost finished, though, and the hours had been productive if nothing else. "No thanks, JARVIS, not yet. I want to do a little more work."

"_As you wish, Doctor."_

Running a hand across his face in thoughtful contemplation Bruce ran his eyes over the string of algorithms and notes for what was quite possibly the hundredth time that night. At some point the soft sounds of the elevator doors sliding open and closed captured his attention and drew it from the screens again.

"Do you ever actually sleep?"

Blinking hard the tired scientist spun on his lab-stool to face Tony, wondering what the other man was doing up at this hour. "I wasn't tired," came his reply as the playboy approached; not entirely true, but sometimes the Other Guy wasn't too fond of letting Bruce sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. It often made for some very long nights.

Stark came up alongside and stood beside the other man, casually skimming the information. "What are you working on?"

"Uh, just some ideas on upgrades for the-"

"Are those the schematics for the Mark VIII?"

"Yeah. Or copies of them at least. They were in the files I have access too. I was kind of surprised, actually; I thought you'd keep these pretty close to your chest," he commented before turning to stare at the other man, his brows furrowed in question as he caught sight of what Tony held. "Is that ice cream?"

"It is indeed," the playboy replied, spooning himself a mouthful of said dessert. He offered the pint sized carton to his companion but Bruce shook his head.

"Rocky Road?" he questioned. Tony nodded and hummed a positive. "No thanks."

With a shrug the playboy took another bite of the creamy, nutty, marshmallow infested dessert and waved his spoon at the screen. "So what are you doing to it?"

"Small things mostly," Bruce replied, sliding his hand through the air to move the data to a larger monitor. Rising, he moved around the table with Tony to stand before the screen. "I ran some numbers to see about adding some support to the structure, hopefully to help with pressure. Your level of protection is already pretty high but there are some flaws and I just thought it should be upgraded, in case you ever - you know -"

"Strap myself to a rocket and fly through a door in space again?" Tony suggested helpfully.

"Exactly. I figured the suit was designed for a lot of things, but flying a nuke on your back through a portal that leads to the other side of space probably wasn't one of them, right?"

"In my defense there aren't many people who would think to prepare for something like that."

"Well now we know, so I thought it would be a good idea to add it to look in to when you started upgrading."

Tony glanced over the information quickly before nodding. "Sounds good. Anything else?"

"Yeah, actually. I was thinking - have you ever thought about a self-stabilizing system? It could run on backup power and kick in whenever there's a problem, like if you were unresponsive. Just something to slow you down in case the Other Guy isn't there to grab you out of the sky next time."

"You planning on skipping town on me, Banner?" Tony demanded, turning to face him with an arched brow and a questioning stare.

"Not at the moment," Bruce replied with a lopsided smile. "But you never know what could happen."

After continuing to stare at the other man with only half-playful suspicion Tony finally looked away. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it. I thought I'd leave you the file to look over whenever you felt like it, make whatever adjustments were needed."

"I've got a better idea," Tony replied. "JARVIS."

"_Sir?"_

"Bring up the full schematics for the Mark VIII and compare them to Banner's copies. Oh, and set up one of the construction chambers."

"_Right away, sir."_

"You want to do it now?" Bruce asked, a little surprised.

"Sure, why not?"

"It's three AM."

"Did you have other plans?"

"No."

"Then we might as well get on it."

Bruce laughed a little, still uncertain. "You haven't even looked at the data yet."

"Is it sound?"

"Of course. I mean, I think so, but engineering Iron Man armor isn't really my area of expertise. Besides, it's _your_ _suit_-"

"And I trust you with it," Tony replied, completely serious and already standing at one of the many screens, eager to get started.

Smiling lopsidedly, if still seeming uncertain, Bruce moved to the workstation next to Tony's and began running numbers again, still wanting to double check everything since engineering wasn't actually his field. "You trust me with it, huh?"

"Yup."

"So what would you do if I told you I added a command to change the paint scheme to Stars and Stripes?" he asked, not looking up from the screen in order to hide his grin.

Silence fell for a moment as Tony stared at him, trying to decide whether or not Bruce was being serious. Unable to decide he turned back to his screen quickly. "JARVIS, hole up. I think I'll check that data after all."

Beside him Bruce couldn't help but laugh.

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_Ehh... ok, so maybe I hate this one, too. But I wanted to get something up so if it sucks don't hate me? I'll do my best to do better next time. _

_Reviews are still love!_


	4. Mischief Managed

A/N: A short but necessary update, brought about by some exciting news about _Iron Man 3_ that I heard today (thanks to **Spockologist**. You're the best, mate)! Directly linked to chapter 3. Enjoy!

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"_Banner!"_

In the confined space of the elevator car Steve cringed, almost ducking in alarm when the intercoms exploded with the horrified yell. _What the...?_

Stepping out of the elevator half expecting to find a battlefield or at least some intruder, the soldier frowned as instead he found only Bruce Banner walking towards him at a suspiciously innocent and casual pace. "Hey, Steve."

"Hey, Doc," the other man replied, looking around with a curious and mildly concerned grimace. "What's going-"

"_Banner! Where are you?"_

"Oh, nothing," Bruce replied, though the grin that he was obviously suppressing and Tony's continued yelling suggested otherwise.

Steve gave a doubtful frown. "You sure?"

"Yep."

Across the room a loud crash interrupted any further questions the soldier might have had as the ceiling caved and a blur of metal slammed into the floor below.

Before the solider could so much as blink Banner shoved past him and dove into the elevator, laughing and grinning as an armored Tony straightened and jogged after him. "Banner!"

Steve stared in wide-eyed fascination as the elevator doors slid closed just before Tony could reach them.

"Stark..." he began slowly, choking back laughter as he stared at the suit Tony was wearing. "What - um..."

"Shut up, Rogers," Tony warned. Steve momentarily complied, still too shocked as he took in the playboy's new armor; it practically sparkled, completely star-spangled and glimmering in brightly painted colors of red, white, and blue.

"_Enjoy the new paint job, Tony!" _Bruce called over the intercom.

Steve probably hadn't laughed so hard since they pulled him out of the ice.

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_Hehe. Hope you guys enjoyed! Reviews are love!_


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